PROTEST PLIGHT
LEEDS PRIVATE HIRE DRIVERS PROTEST BEING TREATED DIFFERENTLY TO HACKNEY DRIVERS
A Leeds private hire driver is so stressed, he can’t sleep after being taken off the road for months. According to LeedsLive, Ahmed Osmani claims Leeds City Council took his licence away three months ago after they found an issue with his seating mechanism, among other issues. Ahmed attended a protest where more than 100 private hire drivers demon- strated outside Leeds licensing office on February 15, set up by Leeds Private Hire Driver’s Organisation (LPHDO). Ahmed said: “It’s disappointing, I’ve been waiting for so long. It’s difficult because I’ve got no job. I don’t know what to do. I’m not working and the car is too expensive for me.” LPHDO chairman Ahmad Hussain said: “They [the licensing team] claim there is something wrong with the mechan- ism of the seating, the way it is located, but there is nothing wrong with the
mechanism.” The LPHDO claims PHVs are being treated differently to hackneys, alleg- ing they are treated unfairly. Ahmad said: “Another hackney car failed and came back here for a retest and they didn’t do any work with it. He got a 28-day extension on his car to get his repairs done but he can still use it as a taxi. Why can’t this driver do that?” This protest follows a series of similar protests which have taken place in
Leeds in recent months objecting to a council safeguarding policy which could see licences taken away from drivers more easily as it gives more powers to passengers. A Leeds City Council spokesperson said: “As a council we will always show compassion for taxi drivers’ circum- stances when a problem is identified, and will look for ways to allow a vehicle to be licensed unless there is an overrid- ing public or health and safety concern. “The vehicle in question had one remaining safety concern relating to damage to the internal door panels, which could injure passengers or tear clothing. The council asked the driver to repair the damage to make sure the vehicle was safe to use by passengers. “The vehicle had an appointment to be inspected again this morning and the council was satisfied with the condition of the vehicle and was able to license it.”
150 TAXI DRIVERS PROTEST AT PETERBOROUGH COUNCIL OVER APPROVAL FOR NEW MINICAB OFFICE
Over 150 taxis descended on council offices in Peterborough on the night of Thursday 3 February, in protest over the decision to grant a planning application for a new minicab office in the city centre. According to Peterborough Today, there was widespread outrage from hackney carriage, and other PHV drivers, after Peterborough City Coun- cil’s Planning Committee approved an application for a new minicab office in the former Maplin unit on Westgate. Hackney drivers claim they were previ- ously told by senior planning officials that no more offices would be granted permission to operate in the city centre. This is seen as the latest step towards pushing hackney carriage drivers out of business.
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Drivers have also complained about the lack of enforcement for residents parking on ranks, the lack of ranks in the city, the fact no provision has been made for a temporary rank with the closing of Broadway for gasworks and that they are being asked to potentially pay thousands to replace vehicles to meet new byelaws that aim to make
Peterborough carbon neutral by 2030. Well over 150 vehicles arrived at Sand- martin House to confront council officials in what was described by drivers as a peaceful protest. A member of the council’s licencing team addressed the crowds in a well- mannered debate about the issues faced by the drivers and how they feel they had been let down by the council. The crowds were told that there were no senior officials responsible for decision-making, that could come out and address them, but they agreed to disperse on the promise that a meeting would be facilitated in order for their concerns to be addressed in full. Drivers seemed satisfied with the out- come but have promised further action should that meeting not take place.
MARCH 2022
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